My invention relates to a device for gathering pine cones without stooping and picking up each cone by hand.
Pine cones of various sizes, particularly those having a high degree of bract expansion, are in great demand for decorative purposes. Retrieving such cones from the ground by bending or stooping is very onerous and substantially impossible by persons with infirmities.
Pick up tools for retrieving objects from the ground by persons standing upright have been produced in various forms in which jaws or blades hingeably mounted at the lower end of an elongated handle are operable between open and closed positions for gripping the article to be retrieved. Typical of such devices are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,157,422; 3,333,881; 3,601,966; 4,143,899 and 4,615,555. Whereas such devices are highly suitable for picking up single or closely grouped articles or bunches of articles, they are not well adapted for quickly retrieving large numbers of scattered individual objects such as pine cones. Furthermore, rotatably mounted, hinged, jaw member type retrievers are generally heavy, complex to operate and relatively expensive.
Very simple retrieving devices comprising one or more prongs with pointed ends and mounted to extend below an elongated handle of which some incorporate movable means for stripping objects pierced by the pointed prongs are commonly used for picking up trash, leaves, paper and the like from the ground. Typical of the stripping type piercing devices incorporating stripping features are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,520,764; 2,552,467 and 2,804,336. Unsophisticated piercing type retrieving devices are also well known comprising elongated pointed end prongs extending below an elongated handle. Retrieving devices which involve piercing the object to be retrieved are not suitable for retrieving pine cones inasmuch as pine cones for decorative purposes are normally considerably damaged if the retrieved pine cone has been pierced by prongs.